Han Chinese
The Han Chinese people (Chinese/simplified: 汉族, traditional: 漢族/ 漢人) are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group that is indigenous to East Asia, mostly in mainland China and Taiwan. The Han Chinese people constitute about 20% of the entire human population, and are renowned for creating powerful dynastic kingdoms in the Pacific Rim. These people consider themselves to be the descendants of the Yan and Huang Emperors. Chinese history is also dominated by a surge in arts, architecture, philosophy, martial arts, politics, religion, science and mathematics. Since Hans make up more than 90% of China's population, many times they are simply referred to as Chinese people. During the Age of Imperialism, the Chinese people were targets of European expansion marked by a European desire to get access to the products of Asia. Etymology The history of the Chinese people and of China and the Asia-Pacific region comes mostly towards dynastic periods; and comes to a very complex diversity as which dynasty or period ruled which. The term Han Chinese derives from the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty came after the Qin Dynasty and these two are the ones that united China. Han Chinese people also got the name from the Han Dynasty's king, Han Zhong. This is who Han Chinese people refer to as their great ancestor. History 'Early History' There are endless theorized and proposals as to were exactly Han Chinese people originated from. There are theories that the Chinese originated from a bloodline in the Middle East or perhaps even Central Asia. The Han Chinese themselves are closely confined to China and descended from a group of people who lived by the Yellow River known as the Huaxia people. The Han civilizations can be traced back several millennia and they are renowned by archeologists for their pottery, which was often made from bronze, bones, stones and jade and even emeralds. 'Dynasties on the Chinese Mainland 2070 B.C.-1911 A.D.' 'Xia Dynasty 2070-1600 B.C.' The earliest recorded dynasty established by the Chinese were the Xia Dynasty (Chinese: 夏朝, circa 2070 B.C.-1600 B.C.). The earliest forms of a Chinese script were found through pictographs on oracle bones. Much of the Xia Dynasty is recorded through legends and folktales in China known as the Bamboo Annals (Chinese text: 竹書紀年). Annals are historical contexts or even legends that organize events by year, though there are archaeological evidence of the existence. The dynasty was found by an emperor known as Yu the Great (Chinese: 大禹), who brought an end to the primitive lifestyles in China and introduced a political system known as the Abdication System, in which the new ruler is determined by phsyical abilities. Yu the Great was mostly famous for his ability to control floods.http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/xia/ 'Shang Dynasty' 1600-1046 B.C. The Shang Dynasty (Chinese: 商朝, circa 1600 B.C.-1046 B.C.) followed the Xia Dynasty and was found by a tyrannical ruler by the name of Jie (Chinese: 桀). According to legend, Shang Tang (Chinese: 成湯) overthrew the tyrant. After a period of oprression by Emperor Jie, the Shang Dynasty was marked by an era of improvement in farming that included the use of sickles and stone ploughs during an era known as the Bronze Age.http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/china/g/ShangDynasty.htm The Shang Dynasty is also where the first development of Chinese characters and symbols can be found which resembles the modern-day Hanza script. The Shang civilizations worshipped a god known as Shang Di ''(Chinese: 上帝), who was a supreme diety. The people of this dynasty were deeply religious and prepared for the afterlife, building elegant resting places for the deceased. Kings and royal members used oracle bones to communicate with ancestors, worshipping them and even making sacrifices which provides the backbone for the commong Chinese tradition of ancestor-worship.http://spice.stanford.edu/docs/117 'Zhou Dynasty 1046-256 B.C. The Zhou Dynasty (Chinese: 周朝, circa 1046 B.C.-256 B.C.) saw the introduction of bronze and iron in China. According to Chinese history as well as overall historians, the Zhou Dynasty was one of China's longest-reigning, especially for an early civilization and also brought an era of a unified government in China. Through military conquest, the Zhou Dynasty extended westward. '''Han Dynasty & Three Kingdoms Era Finally in around 206 B.C. came the Han Dynasty, in which the Han Chinese are allegedly named after. After the Han Dynasty, unity in China was broken and the mainland fell under independent ruling families. This period of clan-rule in China was known as The Three Kingdoms era (Chinese: 三國時代 Sānguó shídài). The Chinese started to experience problems of military threats from the nomadic tribes up north from Siberia. This saw projects such as the Great Wall of China which took centuries or even millenia to progress and build. 'Yuan Dynasty 1279-1368 A.D.' One of the most notorious periods in the history of the Han Chinese people is the Yuan Dynasty (Chinese: 元朝) (Mongolian: Их Юань улс) which lasted from 1279 A.D.-1368 A.D. After Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes, they began to push south into China crushing the Song Dynasty armies. Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan eventually took over China and formed the Yuan Dynasty. This was one of China's first dynasties where China was ruled by a non-Han Chinese emperor. It is both an imperial period in China's history and Mongolia's history. Kublai Khan was known as both the Great Khan (Mongolic/Turkic ruler) of the Mongol Empire and the Emperor of Yuan China, much of Kublai's respect for Chinese culture that he titled himself according to both Chinese and Mongol-traditions. The Yuan Dynasty was overthrown by Han rebels who according to Chinese legend, used moon cakes which contained messages of rebellious planning instead of blessings towards the Mongol rulers, which was the official purpose of moon cakes. After the Yuan Dynasty was defeated, the Chinese reversed the Mongol invasions and used military force against the Mongols. The remnants of the Mongol Empire were known as the Northern Yuan Dynasty as they retreated back to Mongolia and other parts of the Siberian region. In the 19th century A.D., the Chinese would find themselves jousting with the Japanese and Russian Empires for control of the Korean Peninsula. The first war occurred between the Qing Dynasty and Japanese. 'Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 A.D.' In 1353, a Chinese peasant by the name of Zhu Yuanzhang (Chinese: 洪武帝) began a rebellion movement to overthrow the Yuan rulers of China tha the Yuan armies struggled to deal with. With local-upbringings of small militant groups, the Chinese rebels eventually began established large strongholds in cities and claiming large amounts of territory. Yuanzhang was no exception, he joined the Red Turban Rebellion, which was started by an organization known as the White Lotus Society. In 1356, Zhu Yuanzhang was able to conquer the city of Nanjing, an important strategic point in which he could countrol the Yangtze Rver from. The Red Turban army eventually split into two factions, that rivalled from control over China. He led one faction against another, led by a general named Chen Youliang. In 1363, he defeated Chen's army and eliminated other resistances that followed. After he conquered Beijing, the Mongol remnants fled north back to Mongolia in what is now the Yunnan Province, which splintered in the Northern Yuan Empire. In 1368, he became emperor and started the Ming Dynasty, the word ming means "bright" in Chinese.http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/china-history/zhu-yuanzhang.htm Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang implemented many policies that freed the peasants away from the burdensome they had faced during the Yuan-rule. The dynasty prospered under the ruler of Emperor Chengzu, Zhu Yuanzhang's fourth son. During his reign, the Yongle Dadian (Chinese: 永乐大典) was written which was regared to have become the world's largest and earliest encyclopedia. In 1405, the emperor hired a Muslim eunuch by the name of Zheng He to discover Southeast Asia, what is now Indonesia and Malaysia marking the dawn of Islam in those nations after converting large amounts of people.http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/ming.htm 'Sino-Japanese Wars' 'World War II' The second war occurred during World War II which was more atrocious, in which the Japanese Empire swept the entire Asia-Pacific area. By this time, Japan and China had become sworn military enemies. Japan was having a greater desire for a growing military, by gaining resources from other countries by force to feed its war machine. In 1937, Japan began its Pacific sweep by invading Manchuria and bombing Chinese cities with its air force. The worse atrocity occurred in the Chinese city of Nanjing were women were also raped by Japanese soldiers. From there on, most of China remained under Japanese control which resulted in the deaths of many innocent Chinese people. It isn't until around 1944-1945 that the Japanese lost their power allowing the Americans to help the Chinese and Koreans overthrew Japanese rule as a result of naval errors. 'Cold War' After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States became top leaders in either hemisphere. The Chinese had their own part to play. In 1949, a communist leader by the name of Mao Zedong (Chinese: 毛泽东) eliminated democracy or any of the Japanese political influences. He converted the government into a communist and Marxist-Leninist ideology expelling the Republic of China down south in Taiwan. Under Zedong, China became a communist superpower of the east but had its own political struggles with the Soviet Union, the founding country of communism. It became the only military power in the east from its Soviet counterpart, though it never entered the military arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Like the Soviet Union, China funded communist factions during proxy wars and civil wars in other nations against pro-western groups. It played a key role in helping the North Koreans during the Korean War. The fear of an all-out global nuclear war was prolonged when China began processing nuclear warheads in 1968.http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/nuke/ In 1972, American president Richard Nixon made his first visit to China and met premier Zhou Enlai, as a result of a desire to open and cool relations with the People's Republic.http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/modern/jb_modern_nixchina_2.html It was also characterized by a friendly table-tennis match between Chinese and American players, forcing the Soviet Union to make diplomatic ties with the west. Today, China's economy has opened its markets to the western world despite its claims of being a communist country. Mao Zedong is still regarded as a national hero in China. Religion 'Buddhism' Most of China's history is dominated by folk religions. Consequently, most Han Chinese people are practitioners of innumerable traditional folk religions in China. The predominant religion in China is Buddhism. Despite China having the largest Buddhist population, Buddhism is not indigenous to China; it was brought over from India and eventually became China's predominant faith. Buddhism is quite identical to the Vedic faith of Hinduism, much of it was stemmed from Hinduism. Guatama Buddha (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम बुद्ध) was an Indian monk of the Haryanka dynasty who was disgusted by the caste system of Hinduism. Buddha argued that one must abandon all earthly wants to reach enlightenment, as opposed to Hinduism's ethic where one's riches and wealth is determined by his caste or social class. Buddhists believe in reincarnation, the belief of being sent back and physically reborn after death. Most Chinese people practice the Mahayana section of Buddhism, a section also practiced in Southeast Asia. There also practitioners of Zen Buddhism. Despite being a Muslim country by majority, Buddhism is not foreign to Malaysia or even Indonesia, especially in the province and city of Penang where Buddhism has existed for millennia. 'Confucioanism and Taoism' Confucianism and Taoism are also native to China. Confucianism was founded by Confucious, like Buddha, he was a spiritual leader but he was from China. Confucianism and Taoism are both philosophical religions that focus on human principles. Buddhists, Confucianists and Taoists all worship or preach/teach in buildings known as temples. It is often difficult to distinguish between a Buddhist or Taoist temple since Chinese architecture on temples is identical. Even mosques and churches in China are built to look like temples, not the Arabic or Persian-style mosques or typical church. Chinese architecture has also influenced Japanese, Korean, Mongolian and many of the Southeast Asian architectures. 'Christianity' There is also a large group practicing the monotheistic faith of Christianity, who believes that God is incarnated physically through Jesus Christ, his son. The holy book is known as the Bible and Christians worship in churches. This was a result of European expansio, by active Portuguese and Spanish missionaries in China. Most of these are the overseas Hoklo populations in Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia. Roman Catholicism is mainly practiced by the the Chinese-Filipinos, Protestantism is mostly practiced by the diaspora in Indonesia. The Chinese Malaysians follow either. They are descendants of refugees fleeing religious persecution in mainland China. Most of the overseas Chinese in Indonesia and the Philippines are overwhelmingly Christians, who practice a form of Folk Christianity, mixing in Christian practices with traditional Chinese folk practices. Indonesian Chinese people make up a majority of Indonesia's minority Christian population, which is a majority Muslim country. In Malaysia, the Chinese are generally a mix of Buddhists, Taoists and Christians. Penang contains the highest Buddhist and Chinese population in Malaysia. Most of Malaysia's Buddhist/Taoist temples and Chinese Christian churches are in Penang. Despite the large overseas Chinese Christian populations, Christianity is still one of China's main religions practiced by large amount of people, especially in the state of Macau which contains high Portuguese influence. In other Southeast Asian countries, the overseas Chinese are Buddhists and generally have no trouble blending in because Mahayana Buddhism is also the majority and native religion in many of the mainland Southeast Asian countries while Christianity and Islam function as maritime Southeast Asia's. In the United States, there is also a big minority practicing Christianity. In many cities, they establish churches for Chinese-speaking people. Additionally, Animism and nature-worship plays a crucial role in Chinese religions. According to the Chinese calendar, each year is themed on a certain animal. This plays a key role in the strengths and weaknesses of a person. Art and Architecture 'Art' Chinese art is influenced by many factors, including religion, politics and nature. Out of the three, nature and religion dominate much of traditional Chinese art. Like Arabic art, although with no cultural resemblance, the nature in Chinese art is mostly floral designs. Unlike Arabic art, Chinese floral art is not generally symmetrical. Symmetrical Chinese art was more eminent with the early Chinese civilizations who mostly made vases and other pottery. Ancestor-worship is dominant in China. Chinese art also displays a great deal of folktales and legends. Chinese paintings of people were mostly portraits on a center of a papyrus page with inscriptions of Chinese characters on the top margins, a model later adopted by the Koreans which is known as a relief. For example, the only surviving visual evidences of Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan were paintings and portraits from Chinese and Vietnamese artists from the Yuan Dynasty. Mongol artists also adopted this style of art. The dragon is an element of Chinese culture and the many religious of China. Dragon art dominates Chinese art as well, which was later adopted by the Japanese people. Chinese art also consists of landscape paintings, also adopted by the other Asian civilizations in the east. Other than the dragon, animism and nature is also an important element of Chinese culture, each year is determined by an animal in the Chinese calendar. Sky-lantern art is very popular during Chinese and Southeast Asian festivals, which is a collapsible-balloon like piece of art that is flown which is decorated with Chinese calligraphies. Paper-lanterns resemble sky-lanterns, only that they are hung on thread and is common among Chinese communities around the world. 'Music' Main Article: History of music in China at Music China Wiki Main Article: Chinese music at Wikipedia 'Architecture' Chinese architecture is dominated by religious influence from Buddhism; but China's Buddhist architecture does not bear much resemblance to those found in India or Southeast Asia. Buddhist architecture in China is influenced from imperial influence, which usually contained a complex of three buildings that are each separated by a courtyard. The Feng Shui, a Chinese legend, determines which direction parts of a complex or a building, which determines the fate of those that preside or enter the building. The monastery, the main part of a Buddhist complex usually faces south. In the front hall, entrants are usually greeted by four wooden images which represent the guards of the four directions of the earth, known as Si-Tien Wang Tien as well as a statue of Buddha who is sometimes known as Maitreya.http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/buddhist-art/chinese_temple.htm|A Chinese Buddhist Temple One distinct part of these Buddhist temples are the roofs, which contain an overhanging eave before an upward-slope. According to Chinese tradition from the Han Dynasty, this particular design was meant to ward-off evil spirits. The upward-slope is meant to carry spirits, that's where the Four Guardians are usually placed in Buddhist monasteries.http://library.thinkquest.org/18778/roofs.htm The pagoda, ''like the religion of Buddhism itself, was introduced to East Asia from India. The purpose of a pagoda resembled the role of a mausoleum, which was to preserve the remains of Buddhist relics.http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/43498.htm Pagodas are tiered-tower like structures, in China, they satisfy Buddhist architecture. The architectural traditions of Buddhism in China have spread beyond to followers of other religions in China. For examples, churches - the places of Christian worship, and mosques - places of Muslim worship are built using completely traditional Chinese Buddhist style, not European or Arab influence. Due to this rich and sophisticated history of architecture, China contains many ancient fortresses that are now popular world UNESCO and tourist destinations. These include the Forebidden City in Beijing, the White Horse Temple in Henan from the Han Dynasty, the Summer Palace and the Mogao Caves in which Buddhist temples were carved into the rocks. Houses in China also resemble Buddhist architecture and face the south. Cuisine Han Chinese cuisine is either renowned for being pleasuring or for involving ingredients that westerners may find to be unpleasant. Staple meats in Chinese cuisine are beef, pork, fish, duck and chicken which are the most popular meats. The three are used in many sorts of dishes such as soups or fried foods. Staple vegetables include broccoli, peppers, sesame seeds, mushrooms and turnips. Noodles and rice are the top grains in Chinese-style cooking. Fried Chinese foods are cooked in a versatile round-bottomed vessel known as a ''wok (Chinese: 镬). Woks can be used for both frying and boiling. One of the most common appetizers in a Chinese meal is a wrapped dumpling dish known as gyoza ''(Chinese: 饺子) or also called "potstickers". Gyoza is wrapped with thin dough. The fillings for gyoza are mostly made with lean pork and vegetables dipped in a soy-based sauce. Gyoza is often times steamed but can also be boiled and fried, it is mostly fried in western countries. The cuisines of the Sichuan province are spicier than the rest of the cuisines. The oils used for frying Chinese foods are mostly peanut oil, sesame oil and to a lesser extent, pork oil. Zhe dishes are very low on the use of oil and are generally not greasy foods. Wrapped food is not uncommon in China. Many of these foods are a sweet rice usually blended in with a pork or chicken entrée wrapped in either lotus or banana leaves. ''Fish balls are a pulverized-food made from fish product that is sold in southern China and mostly overseas Chinese communities. They are most popular in Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam. Vendors usually fry the fish balls on skewers and dip them in a hot sauce. Popular type of steamed "sandwiches" snacks inSweet rice and pork wrapped in lotus leaf China and other Chinese-influences cuisines in Asia is mantou ''(Chinese: 饅頭) and siopao (Hokkien: 燒包). Both are made with steamed-buns. The fillings are usually made with sweet meats such as chicken, pork and hard-boiled eggs. The only difference is that mantou is eaten with a spoon and siopao can be eaten on the go since the fillings are completely enveloped in the steamed bread. Similar pastries can be found in China but they are baked. The ''hot pot ''(Chinese: 蒙古火锅) is said to have been of Mongol influence, although absent in Mongolia. In a hot pot-sitting, a pot continually boils water in a flavored base. A wide selection of raw foods is laid out for the people, usually only including foods that would have a pleasant taste when boiled. Foods such as tofu, thin-sliced beef, fish balls, fish and various vegetables are often used in hot pots. Pork and chicken are also available. A person simply puts the raw food in the pot and waits for the food to boil to a well-done level, this process takes no longer than a few minutes. The base in the hot pot is not to be consumed and is only used for flavoring. Tea and herbal beverages are very traditional to Chinese people, and is also used for medicinal purposes. Chinese desserts are usually made with fruits and various pastes and yams. Beans are also a part of making Chinese desserts. During the Autumnal Equinox, there is a pastry known as ''moon cakes which is filled with common pastes such as lotus or bean paste. Meats and eggs can also be used for moon cakes. Western utensils such as spoons and forks are not used in Chinese cuisine, unless necessary. Chinese food is traditionally eaten with bamboo chopsticks, which food is picked up from two thin bamboo sticks, about pencil-thick. In case of soups, a person usually drinks the soup directly from the bowl as if drinking tea. Overseas-Chinese cuisine usually contain a blend of traditional influence and the national culinary traditions of their country. For example, in the Philippines, there is a noodle dish known as pancit canton which is a fusion of Chinese-Cantonese noodles and indigenous ingredients such as liver or pork, a popular meat with Filipinos. In Malaysia, the Malay dish known as nesi lemak is usually added in with a Chinese twist when sold or made by Malaysian Chinese people. In the United States, most of the Chinese restaurants serve Americanized-dishes that are loosely based on Chinese food such as ''orange chicken ''or ''Mongolian beef. ''Traditional Chinese orange chicken does not contain breaded-chicken breasts or a sauce that neither thick or sweet. There are crisp-cookies known as ''fortune cookies ''that contain little papers of good tidings inside. These are also not found in China, unless they be served at a Chinese-American restaurant, although people claim that the fortune cookie was inspired by the moon cakes. Notable Han Chinese or People of Han Origin Works Cited